Meet the actuaries

Jim Forbush

FSA, EA, MAAA
Senior Vice President, Compensation and Benefit Strategies Group
AON Consulting

In 1988, MIT Economics major Jim Forbush, FSA, EA, MAAA, read an article that forever changed the course of his professional life – one published in the Jobs Rated Almanac that ranked professions. And what was number one? The actuarial profession.

This article set Jim on a search to learn more. In speaking with a few firms, he quickly realized that the actuarial field was exactly what he had been looking for. "The profession brings together a lot of the elements of mathematics, economics and business that interested me," says Jim. He was further impressed by the commitment firms made to support young actuaries as they pursued their exams and later, their continued professional development.

A field that merged his interests and supported his career growth? He was sold.

Now a Senior Vice President in AON Consulting’s Compensation and Benefit Strategies group, Jim looks back at 20 successful years as an actuary, including tenures with Fidelity Investments and Towers Perrin. He's excited to see how, through each of these opportunities, the profession has delivered on the promise of merging his areas of interest and providing rewarding professional experiences. "I once helped a company start a defined benefit pension plan from scratch," recalls Jim. "The plan covered approximately 2,000 employees and we helped the plan sponsor through every aspect of the implementation from plan documents to administration, actuarial services to investment management."

Jim also has been supported through professional growth opportunities. One of the most exciting? Being a part of a company’s growing consulting practice. "The practice had recently been purchased by a large financial services firm and new business opportunities were plentiful," said Jim. "In the span of five years, we grew from approximately 20 consultants to over 60, which provided an incredible amount of opportunity for growth, training and experience.

Today, thanks to the work of Jim and other leading actuaries, the profession is still highly-rated by Jobs Rated Almanac, Forbes and many others. So what’s in store for today’s students who are intrigued by the profession’s many accolades? "I think actuaries will need to take a leadership role in helping to develop U.S. retirement policy and solve the retirement challenges that we will all face," said Jim. Sounds like another great opportunity.